Raghav Chadha, once seen as a close confidant of Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and a key figure in the party’s Delhi and Punjab affairs, now finds himself in the midst of alleged internal tussle – questioning, “Did I commit any offence?” Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha said he has been "silenced, not defeated", a day after being removed as the party's deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, Friday, April 3, 2026. (PTI)
Soon after being removed as the Rajya Sabha deputy leader, Chadha said he had been “silenced,” as he consistently raised issues that directly affect people’s daily lives, even if they are often overlooked in political discourse.
The AAP leadership, however, has pushed back, accusing him of focusing on “soft PR” instead of raising hard-hitting political issues in Parliament out of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's “fear”. Delhi unit chief Saurabh Bharadwaj criticised Chadha for not taking on the BJP-led Centre strongly enough.
Here’s a look at the so-called “soft” issues like “samosas” that Raghav Chadha has raised in Parliament recently.
1. Paternity leave and shared caregiving One of the issues Chadha flagged in Parliament recently was the need for legal recognition of paternity leave.
“I demanded in Parliament that paternity leave should be a legal right in India,” he said, arguing that caregiving responsibilities should not fall solely on women.
“A father should not have to choose between caregiving for his newborn and keeping his job… And a mother should not have to go through childbirth & recovery without her husband’s support.”
He stressed that “caregiving is a shared responsibility” and that laws must reflect this reality.
2. Traffic crisis in metro cities Chadha also raised concerns over worsening traffic congestion in major cities.
“Traffic has turned our metro cities into giant parking lots with people trapped inside them,” he said, pointing to cities like Bengaluru, Mumbai, Delhi and Chennai. He said the commuters in these parts of country spend “100 to 168 hours a year stuck in traffic”.
“Every hour lost is an hour India cannot get back,” he added, calling for a “National Urban Decongestion Mission” with better public transport, smarter traffic systems and a scientific parking policy.
3. 28-day monthly recharge and ‘use it or lose it’ data A significant chunk of Chadha’s interventions focused on telecom practices, particularly prepaid users.
“Telecom companies offer Recharge Plans with ‘Daily Data Limits’. Any Unused Data expires at midnight, despite being fully paid for,” he said.
“You are billed for 2GB. The remaining 0.5GB disappears as day ends. No refund. No rollover. Just gone. This is not an accident. This is policy.” He questioned why paid data should be forfeited and demanded that unused data be carried forward.